Neo Ceylon
Neo Ceylon is a small, fast-developing nation located in the Atlantic Ocean, not far off the coast of Morocco. Overview Neo Ceylon is tiny, under developed nation with citizens primarily of Caucasian ethnicity who follow mixed religions. It is a backwards nation when it comes to technology and many refer to it unkindly as a 'Third World Nation'. Its citizens enjoy freedom from high taxation and as a result tend to earn more money. The citizens of Neo Ceylon work diligently to produce Spices and Gems as tradable resources for their nation. It is a very passive country when it comes to foreign affairs and has no interests in war. When it comes to nuclear weapons Neo Ceylon will not research or develop nuclear weapons. Plans are on the way within Neo Ceylon to open new rehabilitation centers across the nation and educate its citizens of the dangers of drug use. Neo Ceylon allows its citizens to openly protest their government, even if it means violence. It welcomes all new immigrants with open borders. Neo Ceylon believes in the freedom of speech and feels that it is every citizen's right to speak freely about their government. The government gives foreign aid when it can, but looks to take care of its own people first. Neo Ceylon will trade with other nations with questionable ethical treatment of their citizens but prefers to keep such trade agreements a secret. The economy is largely based around the nation's agriculture. However, due to rich supplies of precious gems, there is a gemstone mine in operation. A small portion of the economy is also influenced by trade. Precious gems and spices found naturally on the island are traded with neighboring Astereanis in exchanged for supplies of aluminum and uranium. Though the populace is small, with private citizens accounting for 80% of the 111 persons presently living on the island, everyone is quite content with the current running of things and does their best to keep the nation moving smoothly into a new, more prosperous era. History Founding Neo Ceylon was first founded by two Swiss scientists, in the latter part of the eighteenth century of Anno Domini. The two men were among the top researchers for various technological development corporations, but upon realizing that more than half of their research and inventions had been turned into weapons, the two decided they would settle their own nation that would keep out of wordly affairs. Combining what little money they had, they constructed a small island in the Atlantic and named it Neo Ceylon, in honor of the island formerly known as Ceylon, now known as Sri Lanka. Early History In 1793, two years after the island was constructed, immigrants from Germany, the Netherlands, and Finland came to the island. Because of the sheer number of immigrants, the island was forced to expand. Even with the larger amounts of land to settle upon, people were packed close to one another, and various social issues between the three nations escalated into violent conflict. After a year, the riots settled, and more than half the population returned to Europe or set off for the New World. Now facing a smaller, more peaceful population, the nation expanded its territory very slightly, from ten miles to thirteen. The next step, of course, was to settle on a government system. One of the scientists, an avid scholar of Latin and ancient Roman history suggested they appoint a consul and members to senate. The notion was carried by seventeen of twenty-two inhabitants, and a senate building was erected at the heart of the island. Later that year, one of the scientists, Aeolia von Brandt, died of tuberculosis, which he had been diagnosed with six months before he and his partner founded the nation. In honor of his dead friend and comrade, the other scientist presented the notion that the community built immediately around the senate building be renamed Aeolia. The notion was passed by the entire senate, and that evening a sign was erected at the entrance to town, alerting all to the name of the small community. In the following months after his comrade's death, the other scientist, Wolf Oldenburg, suffered from depression and alcoholism. It was during this period that Wolf became obsessed with somehow lifting his tiny island nation into the sky; thus he created the national motto, "Ab terram ad caela", which translates to "Away from the earth, into the heavens". Wolf ultimately died of severe cirrhosis of the liver six months after having the national motto approved by the senate; nearly two years after the death of Aeloia von Brandt. In 1799, people from England, Wales, and Ireland began to come to the nation in droves. Most simply used the island as a short pit stop and spurred on to the Americas or the Caribbean, but a small few remained, prompting the senate to expand the size of the nation from thirteen to twenty miles. By 1806, tensions had risen between the population, and the country split into two small nation-states: one comprised entirely of the Germans, Dutch, Finnish, and Swiss; and one comprised entirely of the English, Welsh, and Irish. The western half of the island, where Aeolia was located, flourished under the continued regime of the senate. Meanwhile, on the British side, three attempts were made to impose a monarchy, and all three attempts crumbled less than a year after they began. Finally, in 1823, the two sides finally managed to establish peace and Neo Ceylon was reinstated as a mixed nation ruled by a senate once more. Monarchy The period of time from 1825 to 1903 proved to be an era of great strife for Neo Ceylon. Over the span of 1820 to 1824, the nation had seen an increase in immigration from the British Isles, as well as parts of the Mediterranean, and the Holy Land. In 1825, a man named John Ether was appointed to the position of consul, under his promise that he would help impose new immigration laws that would encourage higher immigration while maintaining a sense of Neo Ceylonian nationalism. Upon being elected to the office, however, Ether immediately turned his sights on shutting down ports to immigration, and putting severe restrictions upon all new immigrants. The senate proposed to remove him from office, but as the final vote was being cast that would carry the notion, Ether pulled a concealed flintlock and murdered four senators, locking the other three in the dungeons, where they would later be executed. With no one in power left to oppose his far-right policies, John Ether sent a summons to the entire population. The following day, from the balcony of the senate building, he gave an address declaring himself King of Neo Ceylon. As King, he expanded the nation's territory from twenty miles to its current size of thirty-eight miles. Ether also imposed greater restrictions upon travel, trade, and switched the official currency of Neo Ceylon from the Neo Ceylonian Mark to a unit he had created himself, which he called the Dors. Under the regime of Ether, those of British origin were given tax cuts, ten extra Dors a month by the government, and were given access to more land and better farming tools. Those of Germanic origin, on the other hand, witnessed increased taxes, land being seized by the government, and frequent illegal raids, where agents carryied friends and family off to the dungeons for execution. In 1836, after eleven years of rule, Ether stepped down as King and his son, Richard, took over. Richard would continue his father's policies until 1840, when John Ether died at the age of 67. With his father no longer stalking his every move, Richard was free to rule the government as he saw fit. As a result, many of the laws his father had laid down were restricted further, and many new, more oppressive laws were put in place. In response to this new rule, many Neo Ceylonians of non-British descent left for the Americas, the Caribbean, or to return to their homelands. A small resistance movement also began to rise in response to the tyranny, but it was quelled after one protest, with more than half its known members being publicly executed a display of power. The economy of Neo Ceylon spiraled into the gutter and many of its greatest minds left for the United States or Canada. In 1875, when Richard was 48, he was poisoned by his own daughter, who then seized power. Though Amelia Ether loosened many of her father's and her grandfather's policies and even abolished about a dozen laws, her reign was still one of pro-British tyrannical rule. In August 1886, surviving members of the old resistance movement and their children took up arms and marched on the old senate building, which had been converted into a palace under the reign of John Ether. After doing battle with the Royal Guards for six weeks, the resistance broke through the defenses and stormed the palace. Amelia Ether, age 29, was stabbed twice in the throat and once in the heart by the leader of the resistance. As Amelia had no heirs, her little brother, John Ether II proclaimed himself king in the aftermath of the struggle. John II's rule proved to be the most fair system, though it was still incredibly pro-Briton. During his reign, which lasted from 1886 to 1903, more than two dozen attempts were made to overthrow John II. However, each of these attempts were halted within one week of having been begun. Finally, in the winter of 1903, John II died of a combination of old age and pneumonia. People's Republic of Neo Ceylon With the last of the Ether family dead, the leader of the resistance, Martin Halm, made an address to the rest of the nation. He appointed fellow resistance members Frank Engelhardt, Stephan Hoffmann, Stephanie Kellner, Edward Newgate, and Brandon Potter to the new senate. The senate then appointed Robert Elliot the Chancellor of Immigration and International Affairs; as well as instated Halm as Praetor. With a new government system in place, the government of Neo Ceylon slowly began to return to the old system, though somewhat more modernized and with new defenses in place to prevent a repeat of the incident in which a tyrannical monarchy rose to power for the majority of a century. This new system named itself the People's Republic of Neo Ceylon, and every six years the ordinary population voted in new senators; as well as vote for candidates for the offices of Praetor and Chancellor of Immigration and International Affairs, for which the senate would then elect one person from each of the population-selected candidates. This system held sway until 2001, when it was replaced by the current system. Recent History In December 2001, Aleister Argall was appointed Prime Minister, achieving a landslide victory with his campaign promises to bring the nation into the 21st century. On March 18, 2002, the Neo Ceylonian Mark was reinstated as the main monetary unit of the nation, with Cenz operating as the equivalent of cents. Rapid advancements have been made in technology, progressing the technological level of the nation from the 1700s to the 1920s in the span of three years. Infrastructure has been constructed to an adequate amount with a small number of people trained to operate as an official armed forces. Through all of this progress, however, government spending has been budgeted, with government banks closing when the government reaches 400 marks in its reserves. Though there has been little significant change from these advancements in recent years, the nation is developing at a steady rate under the leadership of Prime Minister Argall, and it is projected that by the end of 2009 the nation will have advanced to the technological and economic level of prosperous nations in the latter half of the 20th century, with the hope that by the end of spring 2010, the nation will be considered a modern power. Politics The current political system of Neo Ceylon involves a sort of bare-bones government. Basic laws are in place, mostly humane laws, such as anti-rape and anti-murder laws. Civil services, such as police, hospitals, and firefighters are in place. Hospitals are maintained by their private businesses and the police are maintained by their heads, with minimal government interference when they operate as the national military. The actual government itself is an elected one-ruler system. The office of this ruler is known as the Office of the Prime Minister. The Prime Minister is elected into office during times when he is necessary; i.e. wartime or eras of rapid progression. Otherwise, there is no ruling power and people are generally given free reign. Anyone may be elected into the Office of Prime Minister. Four official candidates run for the office, but anyone may be voted for, as there is not an official ballot. Members of the nation simply write down the name of the person they would like to be Prime Minister and mail their selection in to the old senate building in Aeolia. Votes are then tallied, and whoever wins the most votes, even if it is a one vote victory, is declared Prime Minister. Once elected into the Office of Prime Minister a person is Prime Minister until they die, willingly step down from office, are forcibly evicted from office, or the situation which necessitates their appointment ends. Geography Neo Ceylon is very diverse in terms of terrain. The north is marked as being incredibly hilly, while the south is largely very flat, level plains. There is a single mountain at the heart of the island, which stands with a three thousand foot prominence. At the summit of the mountain is built the city of Aeolia, with the senate building at the heart of the city. The rich soil used to build the island grants Neo Ceylon with rich plains and fertile fields. The many hills of the north help to create artificial rivers during periods of heavy rain, and light streams of relatively clean, fresh water during drier seasons. Climate Neo Ceylon is located on line with the North African climate zone, and thus enjoys fairly warm and sunny temperatures. However, being an island nation, the sea breeze helps to reduce some of the heat. The average midday temperature at the height of summer is 31°C (87.8°F), with the maxima reaching about 48°C (118°F). Reaching the maxima, however, scarcely ever happens. Winters typically are in the -10°C (14°F) to -1°C (30°F). The average annual rainfall is about 115.7 mm (4.5 inches); with annual snowfall about 210 mm (8.2 inches). Wildlife Neo Ceylon, being an artificial island, has no indigenous species. However, some flocks of domestic sheep have turned wild. Some flocks of domesticated goat have also turned wild. Certain species of deer and rabbit were introduced to the nation's wilderness from North America and western Europe. Andalusians run wild in the southeast of the island. Prefectures Neo Ceylon is divided into 6 prefectures. These prefectures are: * Ziege-Hügel - The northeastern prefecture. Very hilly, relatively open terrain where most of the sheep and goat farmers live, hence the name, which translates to "Goat Hills". * Ra'd Sahil - The prefecture that contains the east coast and a small part of the southeast mainland of the island. The southern sections of this prefecture are where wild Andalusians are found, and there are many horse and cattle farmers in this region. Because of this, it has been named, "Thunder Beach" in reference to the many shores and the thunderous sound of charging hooves. * Hudor Prefecture - This prefecture is comprised entirely of the west coast. As this is the region which receives the most precipitation per year, it was named after the Greek word for water. * Aegis Prefecture - The prefecture that comprises the rest of the south of the nation. Largely dense woodland, scarcely populated by people. It is mainly used as hunting grounds. * Northwest prefecture * Central prefecture Economy Demographics Most Neo Ceylonians are of caucasian ethnicity. About three-quarters of Neo Ceylonians are caucasian, with the remaining quarter being divided between Arab, Hispanic, and Greek. The caucasian group is divided between peoples of English, Welsh, Irish, German, Dutch, and Finnish descent. Over the years, however, many of these different stocks have blended, into what may be considered a new sub-ethnicity of the caucasian header. Neo Ceylon's official languages are English, German, and Dutch. However, 80% of the population also speaks either Arabic, Spanish, or Greek; 40% speak two of the aforementioned extra languages; and 2.5% speak all three in addition to the national languages. Only 20% of the present population is literate, with 18% of the literate population being located in the nation's capital. 80.24% of the population comprises the private civilian sector, with the remaining 19.76% accounting for military personnel. Education Formal schools and education systems presently do not exist in Neo Ceylon. The government does not regulate education in any way, shape, or form. While many citizens are home schooled, it is often only on basic arithmetic and necessary things for running the agricultural economy. As a result, much of the population is illiterate. Religion Neo Ceylon has no national religion nor one set religion. 47% of the population are of some form of the Christian faith. 30% of the population are of the Islamic faith. 15% of Neo Ceylonians follow Judaism. 3% of the population are Buddhist. 1% are Hindu, 1% are Sikh, and 2% follow Shinto. .5% of the remaining 1% are Taoist, with the other .5% being comprised of agnostics, atheists, and anti-thiests. Culture Cuisine Literature Music Transport Military Neo Ceylon has no official military. Police are forced to go through basic military training before becoming official officers, and every four years have to undergo warfare-specific tests. Certain officers also have to keep up with studying military tactics. Proper military equipment, however, such as uniform body armor and machine guns are kept on hand. In times of warfare, percentages of the police force are deployed based upon what seems an appropriate number. If more soldiers are needed, the nation first recruits volunteers. If still more soldiers are needed, they will send smaller percentages of police officers into battle. Technology Category:Nations